Description

rFactor Special Edition 2008 is a special release of the racing game rFactor. This version installs rFactor version 1.255 and features a tie-in with Intel and the BMW Sauber F1 team they sponsored for the 2008 season. An illustrated 80 page manual in .pdf format is installed with this release, however this covers only the game rFactor and makes no reference to the 2008 F1 cars.

To start a race the player must first set up an account which means selecting a name, entering some basic details and choosing a race series which provides a default car. Then a circuit is chosen and loaded after which the player selects 'race' from the bar along the bottom of the screen and the race begins. At each stage there are opportunities to configure the game from the basic settings such as difficulty, through to advanced settings such as fuel load, tyre and brake pressure and even the weather.
Race cars are controlled via keyboard or joystick and many features useful to the novice such as gear change, anti-lock brakes, spin correction, and clutch control can be toggled on or off during a race via the F1 - F11 keys, the F12 key takes in-race snapshots.
The game also automatically records 'hot laps' and the last 20 seconds of each race. In addition each track has free roaming spectator cameras which the player can select and by moving the mouse they can view the track, the race or the surrounding countryside.

The game features six race series, the Intel BMW Sauber F1 2008 season, the Leinz Festival der Geschwindigkeit (Festival of Speed), the National Stock Car Racing Season of 2006, The OW (Open Wheel) Challenge 2006, Paroz, and the SR Grand Prix Season 2006. In each Series the player starts with one car in one team, the exception being the 2008 F1 season where the player can drive the BMW Sauber of either Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.

In the 2008 F1 season cars from the 2006 Formula IS season are also available to the player however these cars remain locked until the player gathers enough experience points. In other race series other cars are available for purchase.

In stand alone mode the player is free to race any car available to them on any of the fourteen tracks available including Autodromo Nazionale della Brianza (aka Monza, Italy), Barcelona, Essington Park, Jacksonville Superspeedway, Leinz Festival der Geschwindigkeit, Nuerburg, and Northamptonshire (U.K.)
Many of these tracks have multiple courses, for example Northamptonshire in the U. K. offers the British Grand Prix circuit, the British rF3 Championship, and a Sports Car Challenge circuit.

On-line racing is a big part of this game. There is a 'Join' function on the main menu that locates all available game servers. Some of these servers are locked and only available to members while others only allow specific sets of vehicles or circuits and will reject the player's application to join if, for example, an attempt is made to race an F1 car at Jacksonville when other players are racing stock cars.